HM Treasury

ECOFIN: 25 May 2016

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: My honorable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (David Gauke) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement. A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council will be held in Brussels on 25 May 2016. EU Finance Ministers are due to discuss the following items: Anti-Tax Avoidance Package The Presidency will seek a Council general approach on a compromise text relating to the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive. Current Legislative ProposalsThe Presidency will update the Council on the state of play of financial services dossiers. State of play of the Banking UnionThe Commission will give an update on several dossiers linked to the Banking Union: the Single Resolution Fund, the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and the Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive. VAT Action PlanThe Council will exchange views and aim to agree draft Council conclusions relating to the Commission’s VAT Action Plan, published 7 April, and a European Court of Auditors Special report. European Semester Following preparation by the Economic and Financial Committee, the Council will adopt conclusions on the 2016 In-Depth Reviews of macroeconomic imbalances and the implementation of the 2015 Country Specific Recommendations.  


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS8

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Commissioner for Standards

Lord Laming: Yesterday I tabled a motion inviting the House to approve the appointment of Lucy Scott-Moncrieff CBE, a former President of the Law Society of England and Wales, as Commissioner for Standards for the House of Lords. The current Commissioner is Paul Kernaghan CBE QPM. His term of office ends on 1 June 2016.The motion will be taken in the House on 26 May 2016.The Commissioner for Standards is responsible for the independent and impartial investigation of alleged breaches of the House of Lords Code of Conduct. This includes investigating alleged breaches of the rules on the House’s system of financial support for members.For more information on the role and how it operates alongside the House of Lords, please see this section of the website: https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/house-of-lords-commissioner-for-standards-/house-of-lords-commissioner-for-standards-/.Recruitment to the office of Commissioner for Standards was by way of an open competition. A number of candidates were interviewed by a board, which included representatives of the three main parties and the crossbenches. The board also included Baroness Fritchie, a former Commissioner for Public Appointments. The board unanimously recommended the appointment of Lucy Scott-Moncrieff. The appointment will be for a fixed, non-renewable term of 5 years.I have today placed a copy of Lucy Scott-Moncrieff’s CV in the Library.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Telecommunications Council

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: My Honourable Friend the Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Ed Vaizey) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.The Telecommunications Council will take place in Brussels on 26th May 2016.The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, Shan Morgan, will represent the UK. Below are the agenda items and the positions we intend to adopt. The first item is for agreement for a General Approach on the Proposal for a Decision on the use of the 470-790MHz frequency band in the Union (First reading - EM 5814/16 + ADD 1 & 2). The UK will support this General Approach. We do not expect any interventions on this item and UK does not intend to intervene. This item will be followed by a debate on the EU Electronic Communications Regulatory Framework. The debate will be informed by three questions from the Presidency. The UK intervention will include the need to consider regulatory tools in addition to the assessment of significant market power in order to improve connectivity in challenging geographical areas. We will also speak about the importance of protecting national competence with respect to spectrum management and of taking a proportionate approach to the regulation of “over the top” services. This will be followed by five items under AOB, The first two items are a progress report from the Presidency on Proposal for a Directive of the European on the accessibility to public sector bodies' web-sites (First reading - EM16006/11) and a progress report from the Presidency on measures to ensure a high common level of network and information security across the Union (NIS - First reading - EM6342/13). We do not expect a debate on either of these items. There then follows two further AOB items, both information from the Commission on developments on Internet Governance and the role of digital platforms in the digital economy respectively. We do not currently expect a debate on either of these items. Finally, under AOB, the Slovakian delegation will inform the Council of their priorities for their forthcoming Presidency before Council adjourns until the next meeting in quarter four 2016. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS9